COM 107 - Exam I review (Chapters 1, 15, 13, 16, MWS, NOW WITH CHAPTER 14)

3 media roles

Media consumer, media producer, media citizen

Media consumer

Role we play as media takers - our ability to interpret, digest, and use media FROM media producers

Media producer

Role we play in creating media - social media posts, writing a letter, sharing a story via any medium

Media citizen

Role we play in gauging our rights and responsibilities in the media world

Four eras of communication

Oral and written → Print + electronic → Digital

High vs. Low culture

The value and attachment we develop to mediums based on their age, sacredness, and intellectual formulation. High culture = Shakespeare, Ballet - Low culture = Keeping up with the Kardashians, TikTok challenges

Convergence

The compatibility and accessibility associated with media platforms - multiple mediums accessible from one device

Mass nation

diverse population consumes the same media

niche nation

varied, complex media outreach individualized by algorithms or platforms

mass personal communications

mass media channels with interpersonal relationships: individuals have the technology to reach large audiences

mass media

production and distribution of mediums to large numbers of people

mass communications

process of creating/designing media for large numbers of people

selective exposure

people are drawn to, and search for, information consistent with their personal views

gatekeeper

forces/people that prevent or disrupt flow in the linear model (ex. paywalls, censorship in government, etc)

narrative

story, experience shared

Modern Era

(1800-1950s) Rise of mass communications industries presented opportunity with possible problems

Post-modern era

(1950s- pres.) growing skepticism, hierarchies, and growing cultural/political population influence the media

Media literacy

ability to access and analyze media texts, interpret them, and take action

Affordances

the individual engagement of different media platforms and how they compare to others (ex. photo prominence on instagram, sharing links on facebook posts)

Consensus narrative

standards/cultural themes perpetuated and interpreted by a mass nation within the media (ex. high school in euphoria and gossip girl vs real life)

Media Effects research

attempts to understand, explain, and predict the effects of mass media and society, approaching problems using the scientific method

Cultural studies

attempts to understand the relationship among media texts, the people that consume, them, the institutions that produce them, the technologies used to distribute them, and the culture in which they exist

Public sphere

the space in which debate and argument take place in relation to the media in democratic societies

Communication as culture

communication is a ritual of culture - directly rejects the linear model of communication in media effects research - the innate symbols of culture are communication - “a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed”

Correlation

the narratives within media texts and their relationship with real-world actions/effects

Hypodermic needle model

the media takes advantage of the naive and unsuspecting - we are directly influenced by the media and digest its narratives verbatim

Scientific method

hypothesis, use of independent and dependent variables, random assignment, experiences, content analysis, surveys

Survey research

??

pseudo-polls

voluntary polls with a motive - unreliable in assessing research

content analysis

studying, measuring, categorizing media content to quantify texts

minimal-effects model

media has no effects on human nature

cultivation effect

media influences the way we see and interpret reality with HEAVY intake

uses-gratifications model

we utilize media to satisfy specific needs

third-person effect

we assume the media affects others worse than it affects ourselves

media conglomerate

large corporations that develop through mergers and acquisitions of other companies; enabled by shifting regulations, globalization, and the internet

shifting regulations

regulations on media have gone from no regulation → regulation → deregulation → re-regulation (?) - deregulation allowed media companies to adapt many different channels of media and buy out competitors

globalization

media is international - companies/media conglomerates can buy or create adversary anywhere in the world, thus expanding their influence

the internet

digital convergence makes media more accessible, meaning obtaining, viewing or distributing media is easier than in the past - the internet has allowed conglomerates to combine and distribute their media faster across multi-platforms

Three ways media companies make $

revenue, subscription, advertisements

Media revenue

merchandise, buying books, renting movies - exchange of money for materials/service

subscription

paywall for access

advertisements

leasing a share of limited time

Monopoly

one company dominates and industry

Oligopoly

a few firms dominate an industry

Limited competition

many producers, few products of value

Hegemony

One company exercises disproportionate hierarchical power

Horizontal integration

A company buys out other channels to produce and distribute media and foster their growth

Vertical integration

A company produces all the products, content, platforms needed for their media distribution

Synergy

profit stemming from cooperation between cross-media subsidiaries

Ideology

???

Cultural imperialism

International commerce and the media spread ideas across borders, creating cultural narratives that globalize

First amendment

Protects:

Right to free speech

Right to establish (religion)

Right to assemble

Right to petition

Right to a free press

Authoritarian model of expression

Private ownership of media with censorship laws controlled by the government

State model of expression

Government owns the press, controls all of its content

Social responsibility model of expression

Press functions as an informal fourth estate to monitor the government and check it for abuses of power

Libertarian model of expression

No rules, laws, or regulation regarding media

The United States vs. Sullivan

Established that defamation or libel could only be unlawful if presented with “actual malice,” and otherwise cannot be used to intimidate the press

The “miracle case”

Supreme court ruling that overturned a 37-year precedent that prevented the rights of free expression to film - it allowed the free expression rights of the 1st and 14th amendments to extend to film media

seditious expression

inciting language to overthrow the government - is illegal, especially during times of war as presented in Schneck vs. the United States.

libel

defamation of a public figure with false information - “doing wrong knowing it was wrong” - is not protected under 1st amendment because of fraud and destroying the livelihood of a person

obscenity

pornography, language, forms of expression deemed culturally shun-able - is illegal to protect and preserve decency - controversial, and what is deemed obscene changes with the zeitgeist - obscenity is visual, indecency is action

copyright infringement

misuse of intellectual property; plagiarism, creative commons, profitable margin

Prior restraint

suppression of media that would be libelous or harmful

Defamation

intent to harm a persons reputation and livelihood

Slander

SPOKEN, hearsay information that falsely tarnishes a persons reputation

libel

PUBLISHED information that falsely tarnishes a person reputation

Right to privacy

14th amendment

Gag orders

Judicial power prevents the public from hearing about a case in detail

Shield laws

laws protecting journalists from sharing confidential information about their reporting such as identities of their sources, unpublished material, or notes

FCC

Federal Communications Commission - regulates communication in the united states

Net neutrality

Holding that prohibits internet companies from providing unequal speed/access to the internet based on the websites one visits

Section 230

Protects media platforms from punishment due to unlawful content on published their sites

Tech 5

Meta, Alphabet, Apple, Windows, Amazon

Big 6

Disney, Paramount, Sony, Comcast, AT&T, FOX

Netflix

Not in the Big 6 or the Tech 5 despite being very valuable - was born in the digital age (unlike big 6) but does not make its own products to consume media (unlike Tech 5)

Symbolic annhilation

the absence of representation for a particular demographic - homogenizes or undermines the identity of certain demographics

Representation

“The way in which meaning is given to things depicted in the media” - Stuart Hall

Encoded (internal meaning) and decoded (interpreted meaning) messages engage the audience - important to enriching our media consumption with diverse experiences, symbols

RE-presentation

represented in an unimodular, one vision that only depicts what is seen in the end after many trials

“Standing in for”

the burden of representation - lack of depth to a subject who is there to represent an entire demographic of people

active audience

audience is engaged, interprets, and responds to media to discern encoded and decoded messages

the goal of journalism

objectivity bitchhhhh

criteria of newsworthiness

Timeliness

Proximity

Conflict

Human interest

consequence

usefulness

novelty

deviance

pundit

figureheads with talk shows, NOT broadcast journalists

news

the process of gathering information and making reports that offer selected frames of reference that help people make sense of issues, trends, people, and unusual happenings in everyday life

Enthocentlrism (subjected value)

Journalists are more prone to cover demographics they are familiar with - i.e. Western reporting

Responsible capitalism (subjected value)

Journalists respect capitalism as a trustworthy socioeconomic system

Small-town pastoralism (subjected value)

Big cities are corrupt and cynical, suburbia and small town America is ethical and needs to be protected

Individualism

Journalists seek individuals to represent bigger issues/themselves (i.e. people read about other people)